Succulent Roast Pork Belly With Milk Braised Winter Vegetables
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Lately, I've been loving the ease and simplicity of skillet dinners, especially like this Succulent Roast Pork Belly with Milk Braised Winter Vegetables! In full disclosure, this dish did use two pans so I can't officially call it a one skillet dinner! But it was so delicious it was worth washing that extra pan.
I roasted my favorite winter vegetables: butternut squash, rutabaga, baby red potatoes, onions, garlic, shallots, and delectia squash - and feel free to add your favorite vegetables! The vegetables in this meal are easily substituted. I roasted the vegetables in a cast iron pan with the milk and seasonings for about 2 hours.
The pork belly was scored, seasoned, and slowly roasted in the oven for about 3 hours, or until the fat was crispy and the meat tender and juicy.
To serve this delicious meal, I cut the pork belly into several serving-size pieces, and placed them on top of the roasted vegetables. Voila! Dinner is served.
Beautiful, easy, and delicious!
Chopping the rutabaga.
The chopped vegetables nestled in the butter, milk and seasonings.
Scoring and seasoning the pork belly.
Succulent Roast Pork Belly With Milk Braised Winter Vegetables
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1 pork belly section with skin (I used a 5 inch by 8 inch section of pork belly, feel free to use a larger or smaller section)
- 3 cups diced rutabaga
- 1 1/2 cups baby red potatoes
- 1 cup diced butternut squash
- 1 small delicata squash, seeded and sliced
- 2 small sweet onions, halved
- 1 or 2 shallots, halved
- 6 or 8 whole garlic cloves
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
Instructions
- First, the pork belly. Heat oven to 275 degrees F. Place a rack on a baking sheet (for ease of cleanup you could put a sheet of tinfoil under the rack). With a sharp knife, score the skin/fat side of the pork belly by making parallel cuts about 1/2 inch apart. Make sure to cut through the skin and fat but not the meat. Sprinkle the pork belly with some salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil and rub it all into the pork. Place the pork on the roasting rack, fat/skin side up. Roast meat for 3 hours, or until the meat is very tender and falling apart.
- Now, it's time to get the veggies going. In a 9 inch cast iron skillet, melt butter. Add chopped vegetables and whole garlic cloves, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Stir everything around carefully. Arrange halved onions and shallots in the vegetables with the cut sides facing up. Pour milk into pan.
- Roast in the 275 degree F oven for 2 to 2.5 hours, or until the veggies pierce easily with a fork and the onions and shallots are caramelized. Remove cast iron from oven, cover, and place in a warm area.
- Meanwhile, increase the heat to 425 degrees F and roast 10 to 15 minutes more (this will crisp up the pork belly skin). Just keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn. Remove from oven, cut into serving size portions, place on top of the roasted veggies, and serve immediately.
Tips
- You could use all potatoes if you don't like or are having a hard time finding rutabaga.
- Feel free to add beets, carrots, or any winter vegetable you like!
Comments
Share your thoughts, or ask a question!
What is pork belly?